Although the hottest gift in Baton Rouge may have been a Sugar Bowl ticket, many students had to settle for gifts that were just as popular nationwide.
A National Retail Retail Federation survey indicated that this year, the average shopper completed 36.9 percent of holiday shopping by Dec. 1. But for some, Christmas shopping does not end until after Christmas. Many make the trek back to the stores hoping to exchange, return, or just get rid of unwanted holiday items.
Sharron Webber, a spokesperson for Wal-Mart, said there was not one gift in particular that was returned more than others, but clothing is the gift that gets brought back most often, for various reasons.
Tiffany Simoneaux, mass communication senior, chose a more economical return technique. She returned her sweater – which she said was too small anyway – to one retailer, and got three shirts for the same price.
“The dress shirts will be better to wear to work, whereas I can only wear the sweater when it’s cold,” Simoneaux said. “In other words, I can get more use out of them.”
Another Wal-Mart spokes-person, Danette Thompson, said the retailer targets college students in the fall with back-to-school type advertisements, but does not specifically target
the group during the winter holidays.
For children, the hottest toys this season at Wal-Mart were Barbie Swan Lake and a radio-controlled Hummer that was an exclusive to the Wal-Mart retail chain.
While most college students may not play with Barbies or remote control cars, fans stocking up for the big game cleared the shelves at stores like Tiger Mania.
John Crochet, assistant manager of Tiger Mania, said that anything and everything LSU was hot this year.
Crochet said the white and purple coaches’ polos, as well the Nike pullovers were the best sellers. However, this year – with two “gold out” games – his store could not keep gold LSU shirts on the shelves.
“We have to order our inventory 10 months in advance, so it’s sometimes difficult to keep a hot item in stock,” Crochet said.
For Simoneaux, Santa – otherwise known as the LSU Ticket Office – delivered a chance to party with the Tigers in New Orleans.
“Santa gave all Tiger fans a great late-Christmas gift this year,” said Simoneaux.